Care of Magical Draco
by Blackwolf-20
Summary: After the hippogriff incident, Draco decides to try and make a fool out of Hagrid in his next class, if it doesn't back fire on him first. Challenge fic for midnight in Paris-xx, prompt-riffic.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

**This fic was a challenge response called ****the Prompt-riffic Challenge! By **midnight in Paris-xx. I'm choosing the Slytherin way and revolving the story around the prompts given to me in the challenge. I've never written anything short and quirky like this. Nor have I ever responded to a challenge, as I'm used to coming up with my own weird ideas.

**Summary: After the hippogriff incident a year ago, Draco has decided to try and make a fool out of Hagrid in his next Care of Magical creatures class, if it doesn't back fire on him first.**

Care of Magical Draco

Draco sat with a large group of his Slytherin mates in the cozy emerald chairs of the common room, staring down in thought at a small pink egg on the table. Draco was frowning slightly as he stared at it, but then his frown turned into a grin.

"Where did you say you got it?" asked Goyle.

Draco shook his head at his forgetfulness.

"Got it in a new joke shop down in Knockturn alley." He picked it up and rolled it around in his hand.

"Still can't believe you'd resort to a joke shop," said Pansy.

"I don't normally. But they're not the same kind of silly jokes you'd find at any other joke shop. They're more like traps and torture devices. And it's perfect for that sorry excuse for a teacher Hagrid. I'll show him what happens when you sic a hippo beast on me."

"Are you sure it's good enough?" asked Crabbe. "What about a curse?"

"He's Care of Magical Creatures. This suits him just fine. And it'll cause enough trouble for him."

"Then let's get an early sleep so we can get up and do it," Pansy suggested.

"Right," Draco agreed. He set the egg back down with a wicked grin.

When the early dawn approached, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and Blaise snuck out of the castle and headed down to the pen where Hagrid would have his next lesson on the most boring creature—the flobberworm. Draco hid the egg in some tall grass in the pen, then he and the others quickly hurried back to the castle.

When it came time for Care of Magical Creatures, Draco and the other Slytherins headed down willingly. Draco kept his face impassive, but he was sure someone like Potter might catch the hint that he was abnormally happy about something. He didn't care. He was about to get justice for what he'd been through. Nearly being killed by an incompetent teacher's ability to control an animal.

The lesson started with Hagrid giving the dull speech about flobberworms. The Gryffindors were doing all they could to remain alert, but there were yawns and drooping eyes. Only the Slytherins were alert. Many of them were watching Draco with anticipation. He stood near the front, closest to the area where he had laid the egg.

"Do it Draco," Blaise goaded. "Do it now."

"Be quiet!" Draco hissed. "I'll do it when I'm well ready to do it."

Draco's eyes were not on the egg, but on Hagrid as he awaited the proper moment. When Hagrid had come to the end of his speech, he made to turn to open one of the crates.

"Now," Pansy hissed.

Draco gave a slight nod. He lowered his wand so no one else would notice, and gave it a flick. The curse hit the hidden egg, and within seconds, several great, pink feathery things burst from it. They were flamingos, hundreds of them filling up the pen. Hagrid gave a startled cry and jumped back. The Gryffindors gasped and the Slytherins burst out laughing. There were flamingos everywhere, hundreds, thousands, that were still pouring out of the egg. Some were small, some were abnormally large, and some were a regular size. All of them were squawking and causing quite a commotion. They were flapping their wings wildly and creating a storm of pink dust to fly off themselves and land on the unsuspecting Hagrid and the few Gryffindors who had come forward to help him. In Draco's opinion, Hagrid looked like a great pink pig. He and the Slytherins were practically rolling on the ground with laughter as they watched him run around trying desperately to catch the things. They easily slipped out of his reach and nipped at his hands.

"There's a teacher for you!" Malfoy cried. "Can't even control a flock of flamingos."

"Malfoy!" cried a pink Potter.

"Don't blame this on me Potter!" Draco sneered. "Blame it on that oaf!"

"Class….class…dismissed…until I can get the ruddy thins'," Hagrid called out.

Draco and his gang were the first to quickly scamper away from the sight.

"Great trick Draco," said Blaise.

"Yeah, you really nailed him," said Pansy.

"That'll teach him to make a fool out of me," said Draco. He started to laugh again, but stopped at the sound of something strange. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Crabbe.

"Sounds like…music," said Draco.

"I don't hear anything," said Pansy.

But Draco was certain he heard something, and it was coming from the direction of the Black lake.

"You guys go on to the common room. I'll catch up," Draco ordered.

"You sure?" asked Blaise.

Draco nodded and they walked away. Draco took the path to the Black lake and noticed the music becoming louder. When he neared the lake, he realized it was jazz music. But there wasn't a jazz band around, and the music seemed to be coming from within the waters. When Draco neared the edge, four heads popped up. They were women, all holding a shell like instrument in their hands or up to their lips. Draco was surprised to see they were the jazz players, but he was even more surprised by how beautiful they were. The closest one, a brunette, reached her hand out to him and he took it and moved closer. The other women continued playing their jazz. The brunette motioned for Draco to come closer. Draco leaned down and received a gentle, but wet, kiss on the lips. Suddenly, Draco felt like dancing, and he wasn't sure if it was due to the music or the kiss.

But Draco didn't get the chance to dance because the three other women came forward and grabbed onto him. Before he could react, they pulled him into the water. Draco tried to kick and punch, but they were too strong. His mistake had come too late. He had not realized they were not just any women. They were mermaids. Beautiful mermaids with sparkling silver and gold tails. Dark mermaids, with a purpose to drown him. He tried everything to stay above water. He even tried to get his wand, but the mermaids pulled him under, and the water soon became still as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Some time later Draco awoke. He didn't expect to wake up after being dragged under water. He found himself lying on the bank soaking wet. Draco made to get up, but realized something was off. He tried to bend his legs but found he couldn't. When he looked down, he gave a cry of shock. He no longer had legs, but a large, scaly, emerald fish tail. He saw that his hands had become webbed and his skin carried a bluish-green tint. Draco reached up to touch his face and felt it had morphed. He quickly dragged himself closer to the water and peaked in.

His reflection wasn't human. It had become as scaly as his tail and widened like a fish's face. His eyes were partially moved to the side of his head. His hair was replaced with a Mohawk like fin, which was also on his back. The four mermaids responsible popped their heads up from the water and gawked at him. They were no longer the human like beauties he had been drawn to before. They had morphed into gruesome fish like beings like himself.

"_What have you done to me!"_ he tried to yell, but it came out in an odd raspy like screech. The women appeared to be giggling, but Draco didn't find it funny in the least.

"_Change me back now!"_ he tried to cry. They either didn't understand, or found his predicament too funny to do anything. Draco made an attempt to reach for his wand, but he realized at that moment that he happened to be short of his wand and his robes. He could hear the mermaids giggling again.

"_It's not funny!"_ he cried in screeches.

Then the same brunette that had kissed him came forward and batted her eyes. She grabbed Draco's arm and started to pull him toward the water. It was in that instant Draco realized why he'd been lured to them—to be their mate. Draco cursed himself for falling for the trap. He didn't know why he bothered to come. He didn't even like jazz music.

Before the mermaids could pull him under again, there was the sound of heavy footsteps coming in his direction. The mermaids slipped under the water out of sight. The owner of those footsteps turned out to be Hagrid. Draco glared at him. He was the last person he wanted to see. A large part of him wanted to blame him for not warning the class about such mermaids. At the moment, it was more important for him to explain.

"Well now, what do we' got 'ere?" Hagrid asked.

"_It's me!" _Draco tried crying. "_It's me you fool!"_

But none of his words were coherent since he wasn't exactly human.

"Por' lil' guy. Been outcasted you hav'," Hagrid decided. He reached down and picked a struggling Draco up in his great arms. "Not to worry. You'r safe with me, ya are."

"_Don't you understand! I'm Draco!"_

Draco had no clue where he was being taken. Hagrid was headed off into a corner of the forest where a giant fish tank had been set up. Clearly it was for another lesson plan as there were some odd looking zebra striped fish with blue and green scales swimming around inside. Hagrid climbed the steps on the side and tossed Draco in.

"There yah go. I admit, you'r gonna make it a lot more interestin' than them zeber fish," Hagrid told him. Draco pounded on the glass with much rage.

The next day, Draco found himself helping a professor he once called incompetent. He had become the magical creature for the lesson.

Hagrid led his group of students from Gryffindor and Slytherin. The instant they caught sight of Draco, their mouths fell open, and their eyes widened in shock.

"Gather round everyone, gather round," said Hagrid.

They did so hesitantly.

"Hagrid!" cried Weasley. "What is it?"

"That is a genuine, Northwarth mermaid. I call him Spike."

"Mermaid?" Pansy questioned with a frown. Draco hoped she was able to see past the horrible transformation. "Isn't it a male?"

"Well…you could say merman if you wanted," Hagrid decided.

"Look at it Crabbe," said Goyle. "It's so ugly."

"I know."

Both boys pushed their ugly faces against the glass.

"_Ugly!" _cried Draco. He swam up to the glass and pounded it, scaring Goyle and Crabbe away.

"No," said Pansy, as she moved closer. "I think he's rather handsome. For a fish. I wonder what Draco would say if he could see it."

"_I am Draco!"_ he cried. He pounded on the glass, but it did nothing to help his case. He would have made an attempt to pop out of the water and cry out, but Hagrid had placed a lid on the tank.

"Isn't that a little cruel Hagrid?" Granger asked. "Keeping him in there like that."

"Well, I found him on the bank of the Black lake. It's pretty clear what happened. Yah see, the Northwarth mermaids are very serious fok's they are. The fact that he was beached proved they no longer wanted him in their territory. They don't want him, they throw him out on land. It be murder to put him back in there."

Draco definitely didn't want to go back into the lake and was happy to hear Hagrid wasn't going to put him back there, but he definitely didn't want to spend the rest of his life in a fish tank. So far, communication with Hagrid, let alone the rest of the class, had been a failure.

"What are you going to do with him?" asked Potter.

"Well, I'm trying to get in contact with a feller that looks after magical fish fok. Til then, I'll be taking care of him. Now, who'd like to come and feed him?"

For food, Hagrid had provided a crate with live eels. He pulled one out with his thongs since no one was willing to feed him.

"_There's no way I'm eating eels!"_

But Draco's rumbling stomach and new fishy appetite changed his stubbornness. The minute one of the eels was dropped into his tank, Draco swam up and snatched it. Without thinking, he gobbled it up. Draco was both sickened and intrigued by what he'd done.

"There you go, all better eh?"

For the next couple of days, Draco became the unexpected lesson plan for the class. In that time he learned everyone, but mainly the Slytherins, were wondering what had happened to him. Draco had been unable to explain who he really was, and the transformation hadn't gone away. And in that short time, Hagrid had reached his contact. A week later, Draco's tank became boxed up in a crate and moved to the Hogwarts Express. Draco was unable to see where he was going. The only thing he knew was that he was being accompanied by a sobbing Hagrid who was sorry to get rid of him.

"_Maybe I'll be able to find a way to speak with this fish care taker and something can be done."_

He could only imagine how much his parents were worrying, not to mention his Slytherin pals.

When the train came to a stop, he felt the crate being lifted. After a moment, the crate boards were removed from the glass and Draco was able to see. He was in a train yard of some sort. There were shiny trains everywhere he looked. All around him, wizards were loading or unloading magical creatures onto them.

"Lucky the Hogwart's Express was able to transport him here," said a sudden voice.

Draco looked around and saw a tall, wiry haired man in a straw hat approach. "This him Hagrid? He's a beaut."

"He is itn't he," said Hagrid as he patted the glass fondly. Draco started to go into his tirade. "Gets a little angry sometimes though."

"Ah, he's just nervous," said the man. "We'll load him up at train number twenty. Let me go get the boys."

Hagrid turned to Draco, with a tear running down his eye.

"Well…I get this is it…Spike."

"_Oh please,"_ Draco thought angrily. "_If you had any idea…."_

Before Draco could even finish his sentence, he felt an awful twist in his side. Draco doubled over and Hagrid gasped in shock as his beloved Spike began to transform back into Draco Malfoy. No longer able to breathe under water, he hurried to the surface and pounded on the lid. Hagrid wasted no time in climbing up and removing the lid and pulling Draco out.

He laid the teen as gently as he could on the ground. Once Draco was able to catch his breath, he turned with an angry frown at Hagrid, who's face was very pink with embarrassment. A soft breeze brushed over Draco's naked form. He curled up immediately and tried to cover himself with his hands, but he still managed to glare.

"Wait till my father hears what you've done to me," he hissed.

"With…ah…all due…respect Malfoy, I had no idea," said Hagrid. He refused to look down at the boy. "Guess I might of forgotten the little fact about Northwarth mermaids being able to transform a man into one of them for a mate. Usually is permanent though. Must a been young mer fok casting the spell."

"I guess you did," Draco sneered.

"Didn't figure you'd follow the jazz music they played," Hagrid said under his breath.

"What was that?" Draco demanded.

"Nothing…nothing. Guess this makes us even," Hagrid decided.

Draco frowned in frustration. There was no way he'd be able to top this with another attempt at gaining vengeance. Hagrid had this on him to tell his favored Gryffindors.

"Suppose," Draco whispered under his breath. "How am I suppose to go home like…like this?"

"We'll take the Hogwarts train back. Hold on a sec."

Hagrid walked away from a very vulnerable Draco and disappeared behind several lines of trains. He returned a few minutes later carrying a long t-shirt in his arms.

"Little shop round the corner," Hagrid explained. He tossed the shirt down to Draco who opened it with disgust. A large pink flamingo with sunglasses was on the front. He looked up at Hagrid who shrugged.

"Now we're even, Spike."

**Alright! I finished this in one day. My prompts for this challenge were: Dawn, flamingos, jazz, mermaids, trains**

**I wanted to go for the goal of 3,500 words, but I think this was long enough. Review if you desire. I plan to write for other challenges for a while as opposed to write another one of my own. The part about Hagrid caring for Draco briefly was inspired by my own challenge in which a character was mistaken for an animal by Hagrid. Still it was all about the prompt challenge.**


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